


Wonderful Discoveries

by VelvetSky



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies), Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Crossover, Diana is Steve Rogers Mother, Diana knows Thor, F/M, Steve and Darcy are clueless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-15 23:59:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14800409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelvetSky/pseuds/VelvetSky
Summary: Thor brings Diana in to help with a project. While there, Diana gets to know Darcy and Steve, who need a little nudge in the right direction. She also finds that nudge helps her discover what happened to the child she gave up.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [McGregorsWench](https://archiveofourown.org/users/McGregorsWench/gifts).



> For my Blogversary fics. This one is for @mcgregorswench I hope you like it! :D
> 
> The prompt: Can I request ShieldShock, where Darcy is brash & bold, except when it comes to Steve who gets her all tongue tied. Fluffy fluffy fluff. Or something where Darcy is obsessed w/the Wondererous Woman she saw in news reports after Superman’s death/return, & Steve reveals that she was his birth mother. I’m a big sucker for Steve as the child of Diana & Steve Trevor, & maybe Steve and Darcy go to see Diana who has long thought her baby boy lost to ages past. Or even any ShieldShock would be great.
> 
> A/N: This one turned out a little longer than I was aiming for, but it just needed more space. I tried to hit as many of the points requested as possible and to the best degree I could. I hope it’s not too long, and that it came out good. :)
> 
> A/N 2: I’ll be posting this in chapters (there are 6 chapters) one each day until they’re up. Each chapter is basically a scene, with rotating perspectives each scene/chapter.

The team had found some kind of artifact, a book, of sorts, filled with art and writings, in a language no one knew. Well, Thor had some idea what it said, but he called in an old friend who was more familiar. There was concern the art and writing was connected to some kind of ancient evil, and Thor did not want to end up wrong on the translation. He suspected it was a sort of dark magic book, that could summon an ancient demon. His friend flew in, the human way, from Paris, and came right up to one of Tony's personal labs, where the artifact was being kept under constant surveillance by FRIDAY.

Jane, ever curious, had been lurking about the lab, with Bruce, looking it over. Darcy had found a chair. The relic was cool looking, but when Thor said something about ancient demon, she decided it was best to give the thing a safe radius.

"You know, there's probably at least a dozen horror movies that start exactly like this." Darcy had her feet up on a desk while she snacked, and read a book, with her iPod on.

"Nothing is going to happen, Darcy. Thor said, unless you do some very specific things, it's just a book." Jane was still gently poking the old tome, though Bruce froze and appeared slightly twitchy.

"I'm pretty sure that's what someone says in every one of those horror movies. And they're probably like the first one to have their face eaten, or something equally heinous." Darcy had pulled both earbuds from her ears and was focused on the scene.

"Okay, my brain knows Jane is right here. But my heart rate says I need to go have some water and sit down, or there will definitely be some kind of beast making an unexpected appearance." Bruce shakes his head and waves his hand before moving to shuffle out of the lab. His exit halted when Thor came in, followed by a tall, beautiful brunette woman.

"Ah, good, everyone, this is my friend, Diana. Diana, these are my friends, Bruce, Darcy, and my love there, Jane." Thor gestured around at each person.

"Hello." Diana nodded, moving toward the book.

Bruce lingered in the doorway watching, while Jane seemed to freeze for a moment watching Diana's approach. It took her a moment to find a word. "Hi."

Diana smiled warmly at Jane. "It's nice to meet you. Thor has spoken fondly of you."

Darcy could see the blush on Jane's cheeks before she spoke. "Oh, thanks, I mean, nice to meet you too. I didn't know he knew you. You're the Wonder Woman, aren't you?"

"That's what the media has started calling what I do sometimes, yes. But today, I'm just here to give a second opinion on this artifact. I'm sure Thor's assessment is correct. He doesn't give himself enough credit in matters of academia." Diana's smile seemed calm and easy.

Thor made a hand wave gesture, and maybe blushed a bit. It made Darcy giggle, though everyone's attention seemed to be on Diana. "Have a look, and see if I was on the right track."

Bruce wandered back, as Diana, Thor, and Jane gathered around the book. Darcy picked up her earbuds, but didn't put them back in her ears, she couldn't help wondering what the assessment might be. "I still say this is how horror movies start."

Jane rolled her eyes and shook her head, everyone else chuckled. "It's also how research happens, so we'll have to risk it."

Darcy chuckled a bit too. "I guess at least if something leaps out of the darkness we've got bonafide superheroes here."

"Indeed, I know I'm resting easier." Tony wandered in, without anyone noticing until he spoke. Smiling at Diana, and making a picture framing motion in her direction. "You are gorgeous, but I'm sure you get that all the time. Brains and beauty, a stunning combination."

"Mr. Stark." Diana nodded with a polite smile, and a raised eyebrow.

"Please, please. It's Tony. Can I get you anything? Hungry? Better lighting?" He pat Bruce on the shoulder as he came up next to him and Diana.

The little smirk pulling at one corner of Diana's mouth was something Darcy wished she knew how to copy, it was perfect. "I'm fine, thank you."

"What do you think about this little bit of historic literature?" Tony tapped the book with a knuckle, and Bruce jumped.

Darcy stifled a laugh as Bruce wagged a finger at her. "I'm sorry, Bruce. Would you feel better if I said, I don't think any horror movies start with this many superheroes in the room?"

"Maybe." Bruce scratched his arm and sat down for a moment before getting up again.

Tony chuckled a little as Darcy got up and gave Bruce a hug. Diana shook her head and smiled a bit bigger. "I've only had a brief glance, but it would appear, off hand, that Thor's thinking is probably correct. I'll look through it all though, to make sure there aren't any hidden secrets."

"If it is some kind of, how to guide for summoning your own demon of darkness, do we like put it through a magical shredder or something?" Darcy smirked, and got chuckles from Thor, Tony, and Diana. Jane just smiled, and Bruce shook his head, but she spied a smile on him too.

"If possible, yes. If not, then we lock it away in the safest place we can find." Thor spoke, quite decidedly.

"Since I assume this investigation might take a day or two, and there is a small celebration happening tomorrow evening, I do hope you'll join us, Diana. I'm sure there's some folks around here who would love to share drinks and polite conversation with you. You might even like a few of them too." Tony circled around the table before strolling back toward the doorway he came from.

"That sounds nice, thank you, Tony." Diana's smile was soft, but real. Darcy found herself a little caught in that shining gleam in Diana's eyes, while Tony chuckled as he left. "I know Jane is an astrophysicist, and Bruce has an array of degrees, I'm sorry, I didn't hear of you beforehand?"

Darcy almost didn't realize for a moment that Diana was actually speaking to her. She shook her head and laughed at herself. Diana's tone was warm, almost apologetic, like she really thought she should have known something of Darcy when she arrived. "Oh, I'm no one really. I'm just Jane's assistant."

"Everyone is someone. So you're a physicist?" Diana was both glancing over the book, and observing Darcy at the same time.

When Jane chuckled, Darcy stuck her tongue out at her friend. "No. I studied Political Science in college, but I basically just help Jane with anything she needs help with so she can do her work, and make yet another breakthrough in space and time or whatever."

Everyone chuckled, except Darcy, who just nodded, with a hand motion that said 'okay, get it out'. Though Diana only laughed briefly. "It is hard to do anything all alone, possible, of course, but much more difficult. It always helps to have people helping you along. And the bigger the task, the better it is to not be going it alone."

Jane and Darcy exchanged smiles, and then exchanged them with Diana as well. Thor chuckled again and sat himself down in a nearby chair with a big smile. "Being part of a team is the best."

"I suppose you have a point there." Darcy smiled, peering at the old book, while still keeping a good foot between herself and it.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve didn't hate Tony's parties, they could be nice, and this one wasn't too crazy. They weren't his favorite things though, that was for sure. Sam was usually pretty good at making sure Steve was occupied and having fun, but Steve also wanted Sam to actually have some fun. Which meant he quietly excused himself when Sam and Clint got a pretty serious round of pool going, playing some kind of 'battle of the sexes' match, against Maria and Natasha.

He figured he'd wander back in a bit, but another beer sounded good. It always felt like a nice safety to him. Even though he couldn't catch a buzz from it, he liked the taste, and it made him appear to be involved in the party, even if he was just standing with the beer in hand. An illusion of participation, really, but it worked, and it let him relax and people watch for a while.

He weaved his way toward the busy bar. There was no hurry to catch the bartender's attention, especially when he glanced to his right, as Darcy was wedging herself between him, and another person, to deposit her empty glass on the counter. Steve hadn't managed to figure out how to actually talk to her in the several times he'd crossed paths with her, but she had such a nice smile. "Hi."

"Oh! Hi!" Darcy's eyes went wide, and Steve wondered if she had even noticed it was him there until that moment. As her expression shifted into that warm smile of hers, he smiled back, and Steve felt himself caught in her gaze, he could have just stared at her all night. It felt like this was how all their encounters went. He'd manage to say hi, she'd smile at him, and then he couldn't seem to figure out how to talk anymore.

Steve wasn't sure how long they stood there smiling at one another, it felt like ages, and no time at all, at the same time. When someone bumped into Darcy's back and knocked her into Steve.

"Oh, hey, sorry guys. But you should really either get a drink, or get a room, and stop blocking the bar." Tony chuckled, giving them a wink and eyebrow wiggle, while grabbing the two bottles of wine the bartender handed him. Then strode off before either of them could collect themselves.

Darcy had grabbed Steve's arm, at the same time he'd grabbed hers, to steady her when she fell into him. When she looked back up at him, a blush all across her face, and her eyes were wide. Her lips softly parted before she breathed out a word. "Sorry."

Steve just shook his head and smiled, as her cheeks flushed. His mouth slightly open, he should have probably been saying something, but he wasn't quite making words. Not with her all flushed and a glow, and holding onto his arm. And her skin was soft. Even in the commotion of senses that was the party, he caught the soft scent of citrus that he always got around her, he guessed it was probably her soap or shampoo. He liked it, and the warm sensation it seemed to create through his body.

"Sorry, um." She flushed a bit more, shifting and looking around.

"Okay." Steve’s voice held none of the confidence or command that it did when he was suited up. It was soft, barely above a whisper, he wasn't even sure she could hear him.

When her hands loosened on his arm, Steve let go of her. She seemed to nod, as she started to move. "See you later, maybe."

Steve was trying to get himself to ask her not to go, or where she was going, or something, at least goodbye. All he managed was nodding as her hand slipped from his arm and she moved into the crowd, one more quick smile over her shoulder, before she headed away from the main lounge area.


	3. Chapter 3

Diana had mostly been through the book, and agreed with Thor's thoughts on it. She was sticking around to help decide the best course of action, if there was a way to destroy it, and if not, how best to keep it from falling into hands that might try to use it. The party, in the meantime, was a nice distraction. With it being a gathering full of superheroes, she didn't get overly bothered by people wanting to hear stories. She appreciated getting to have a glass of wine, talk to a few interesting people, and feel like she blended in. She was trying her best to step back out into life, but she didn't need excess attention.

Between Thor and Tony, she had been introduced to everyone there, though several she got little more than a hello in, before being introduced to someone else. She had to admit, the brief greeting with Steve Rogers had piqued her interest. There was a certain lure to him. She thought, perhaps, it was his having lived some time ago and then come into a new time and new world. She felt like she could relate to that idea. Or maybe it was simply because he was a man named Steve, with blue eyes, a hundred years later, nearly, and Steve Trevor still had her heart.

She had caught sight of him a few times during the evening, but didn't wish to interrupt him while he was shooting pool with a group of others, or talking with Thor, or when he seemed to be a bit taken with Darcy at the bar. Part of her had wanted to race over and push the pair together again, because the way they stared at one another was unmistakable. But not knowing her well, and barely even being acquainted with Steve, she wouldn't presume to know if such a move was right. It did, however, make her all the more curious about him.

When she spied him on the balcony overlooking the lounge, near the windows, Diana made her way over. "Taking a breather?"

Steve glanced over at her with a polite smile. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"You'd think fighting battles the way we do, a party would be nothing, but sometimes it is far more difficult to navigate, and keep your breathing steady." Her smile got a little deeper as he chuckled slightly.

"You would think, right." He seemed to pause, and look out over the party again, a beer bottle cradled in his hand, though she hadn't seen him take a sip since she spotted him. When he turned his gaze back to her, she felt a curiosity in his eyes. "What's it been like for you? Living so long, watching the evolution of society?"

"As opposed to waking up, and suddenly everything had changed?" Her smile had softened, and she thought she could feel the wistful air around him.

Steve made a brief, soft, snicker, and one corner of his mouth twitched at a bit of a smile. "Yeah. I think I've mostly gotten used to things. Read up on history, but sometimes it's still feels a bit surreal."

"Surreal might be a good word. I feel that sometimes." Diana let her gaze sweep over the party, before landing on Steve again. "Of course, it's been pointed out to me, that until recently, I had sort of shut myself down, and in most of the ways that count, cut myself off from the world. I worked, a very average job, and that was my life. Moving and changing only often enough to remain anonymous to most people. Never getting particularly close with those around me. To most of the people I called coworkers over the years, I was just that woman who read a lot of books, and spent a lot of quiet time at home when I wasn't at work."

"Sometimes I'm not really sure who I am, when I'm not working, when I'm not fighting something." Steve held her gaze without falter. "How did you manage to turn it off for so long? I heard you aided somehow in World War One, but then you laid low for years? When I see something going wrong, I can't seem to turn away from it."

There was definitely something about Steve that felt familiar. Maybe it was just they both clearly had experienced the world in ways far different than most other people ever could. "Perhaps you're of nobler spirit than I am. Maybe it was just how I was raised. Removed from the world, believing that the root of evil lie in one being, but then I defeated that being, but the evil still ran rampant around the world. Not created or perpetuated by some god, but by men themselves. And after the war, I guess I had trouble processing everything that was lost."

"I don't know about being nobler. Maybe it was growing up like that. I grew up poor, in Brooklyn. I never knew my father, and my mother worked just to keep food on the table, and died when I was barely eighteen. I was scrawny and sick most of the time, there were bullies and strife everywhere. And I just wished I was capable of doing something about it at the time. And once I was able, I guess I felt like it was my duty to then do something about it, for all those out there who couldn't. Though sometimes, I feel like that's all I am." Steve finally took a swig off his beer, his gaze averted for a few moments.

When Diana caught his stare again, she smiled softly. "War does strange things to people. Even people who are supposedly super. We can't be super all the time. And it is a lonely world when you aren't connected to it, to the people in it. While it's important we do what we can, because others can not. We shouldn't forget we are people too, and we have to tend ourselves so that we can help others."

Steve smiled a little deeper, though the longing look in his eyes remained. "Maybe that's the kind of thing you learn living through that history, rather than waking up to find it passed you by."

"Believe me, in many ways, I did sleep through those years, even if I was sleeping with my eyes open. But maybe that's what I learned from doing that." Diana felt Steve searching for something in her eyes, and again, she couldn't shake that feeling of connection, feeling like she knew him in some way.

"You might have a point. Sam pushes me to get out of the tower when there isn't a mission, just to take in the world. And admittedly before I met him, I had probably walled myself off from really being a part of life. I went into World War Two not really knowing what the experience of war was like. I thought I'd known loss and pain before, but it was a new level that I found there. And when I woke up in a new century, I found myself right back in battle so fast, I'm not sure I fully processed everything. Or what it meant to really lose everything. There were things I'd wanted from my life, when I was young, back in 1944. But I haven't been able to reconcile what was lost, with what is really possible now." He shook his head. "If that makes any sense."

"I think I do know what you mean. And I think it took me almost a hundred years to begin to come to terms with that myself. I certainly don't blame you for not knowing after only a few years. But, perhaps if you think about it some more, make a stronger attempt, than I did, to move forward, you might find a faster, and better path to your own personal understanding of how to have your life, and still be who you need to be to the world." Diana brushed her hand down Steve's arm and then let it fall away.

"I'm not sure if I know how to do that, but I do feel like it's something I should try to figure out. There maybe are a few things I wish I could have in my life, that I thought I could live without, but maybe, if I'm really honest, deep down, I do still want." In that moment, he somehow looked so young, so in need, and Diana just wanted to help him, care for him.

"Maybe you shouldn't let go of that want. Maybe it's not so out of reach." She wasn't sure he was talking about Darcy, but it felt like maybe it could be. Even if it wasn't, whatever it was, she believed he should try to have some life for himself. She didn't know if she wanted it so badly for him because he felt like a kindred spirit, or if it was that strange pang inside that something in him reminded her of her Steve. She had wondered for a split moment, but it just seemed so outrageously unlikely, she buried it immediately.

Steve offered his arm, and Diana smiled, her hand lightly curling at his elbow, and let him lead her on a stroll around the upper levels of the party.


	4. Chapter 4

Darcy had enjoyed the party, most of it was spent with Jane. Jane hated the parties, but went because of Thor, plus Tony always insisted. But at every party they'd been to, Thor always got involved in telling stories and socializing, and Jane would quietly find a calm zone at the party to sit and people watch, and sometimes someone like Bruce, who also was really not into the parties, would sit down and they'd occupy themselves talking science. And while Darcy didn't really have much to say about the science, they would need snacks and drinks, so Darcy would go brave the crowds to acquire such things. It did usually leave her a bit tired, since she often felt like, while fun, the parties were also work for her.

After, Darcy had crashed out pretty fast, once she got down to her room and into her bed. Tony always said work was optional the day after a party, and with Thor around, that did at least mean that Jane would be forced to enjoy a slow paced morning. Well, maybe not slow, Darcy wasn't sure Thor did anything slow, but they weren't leaving their room, so Darcy didn't have to be up and working. Thus, the chime at her door at ten in the morning was a surprise.

Darcy opened the door, hair tousled, in just her pajama shorts and a tank top, to find Diana, looking flawless as ever. "Hi, what's going on? Don't tell me the book has gone horror movie on us."

Diana laughed lightly, and looked almost embarrassed, waving her hand a little. "No, everything is fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I didn't think. Go back to bed."

"No, no. It's okay. I should be getting up anyway. What did you need?" Darcy was mostly joking about the horror movie thing, but she was definitely wondering why Diana was at her door this morning. Last she'd seen, Diana was strolling the balcony with Steve, looking like they were drowning in each other. Darcy had felt the pangs all night from that, but she could hardly blame either of them.

Diana took a deep inhale, and then exhaled before speaking. "This is probably strange, but I wondered if I could talk. See what you knew about someone in the Tower."

"Me? If you want to know anything, Friday could probably tell you far more. Or Tony, he likes to know everything about everyone, even things you think you haven't told anyone." Darcy did keep and ear to the grapevine, but she doubted she knew anything Tony, or his ever present AI didn't.

"In my experience, it's the assistants and secretaries who know more than anyone else about what's really going on in a place." Diana simply stood in her doorway, until Darcy finally took a step back and motioned her inside.

"I'm still not sure I know anything anyone doesn't. But what were you wondering? And about who?" Darcy sat down on her couch, and Diana followed suit.

"I wondered what you knew about Steve. I was talking to him last night, and it made me curious." Diana somehow managed to look perfectly comfortable, and perfectly elegant, all at the same time. Darcy felt like a bit of a mess by comparison. She also felt her heart sink a little.

She was looking down, rather than at Diana. "I'm not really sure what I can tell you. From what I could see, you spoke to him far longer than I ever have."

"Maybe, but I saw you with him at the bar last night, and there is no faking a stare that intense. If you haven't spoken to each other, maybe you should try doing so." When Darcy looked up, Diana had a warm smile aimed at her.

"Are you not trying to date him then?" Darcy's eyebrow went up.

Diana chuckled softly. "No, I'm not. He felt oddly familiar to me though. I don't know why, I wonder if somehow I met him long ago. He said he grew up small and ill. I did spend a bit of time in New York for a little while in the 1930s, maybe we crossed paths. Though he didn't say anything, but it felt like perhaps he recalled something too."

Darcy shook her head, feeling like she was not the person to answer such things, but finding herself very curious. "What I've heard, Steve was in poor health most of his life, until the serum that sort of birthed Captain America. I've heard he also has an eidetic memory, which maybe is from the serum. So perhaps he can't quite place your face if you met long ago?"

Diana appeared to be processing the information, and perhaps pondering other questions she had. Her eyes had shifted to a gaze beyond Darcy for a few minutes. Darcy simply sat quiet, giving her a moment. "Perhaps. I suppose it could just be that his name is Steve, and something in his nature reminds me of a man I knew, and loved, who was also named Steve. A man who I lost in World War One."

"Definitely a different person then." The words came out before Darcy could stop them.

Diana chuckled a bit. "Definitely different. Perhaps this is crazy, but I feel like there might be some connection. But I don't know much about Steve's family."

"Oh." Darcy paused just a moment as her mind connected the dots on what Diana wasn't completely saying. "Oh! Would it be possible that he could have been so ill though, as a child? If you were-?"

"I don't know. I was the only child on Themyscira, and the story I was told was that my mother molded me from clay, and Zeus gave me life. There is no knowing what a child of mine could be, or what trouble they might have, especially when mixed with that of a human." Her voice was soft, careful, as she squeezed her legs with her hands, then crossed one knee over the other, her gaze turned toward the cushion of the couch. It was perhaps the first time Darcy saw what appeared to be nervousness in Diana.

"Your Steve? Would have been the father?" Without thinking, Darcy had shifted a little closer to Diana, and her voice was just a whisper when she asked her question.

"Yes. The pregnancy was fast, only a couple of months, not like a human's. The baby was small, but he seemed well enough. I named him Steve, but I didn't feel, after the war, and everything, that I could be much of a mother. I felt lost, alone, hollow. I didn't think I could give a child the support it would need to grow. I had a friend, she had been Steve's secretary, she said she probably knew someone who would love to have a baby. That was good enough for me. I trusted Etta, and if she believed it a good, loving family, I was okay with that. I didn't ask who they were, I thought it better I didn't know. Now I wish I did though. I had assumed my son had lived his life, and probably died, by now. But, something in his eyes, it just felt familiar last night, and I can't shake the feeling." When Diana looked up, there were tears in her eyes.

Darcy reached out and embraced Diana. It was a long, heavy hug, that ended slowly, as Darcy's hands rubbed softly on Diana's back. Only after a long sigh, did Diana pull back, a quick sniffle and a wipe of her eye and she somehow looked flawless still. Darcy took a breath before asking anything. "Why are you asking me, instead of Steve?"

"He's been through so much in his life. I don't want to throw any more trauma upon him, without knowing at least if what I'm bringing to him is likely true. I don't trust that I'm not simply projecting my own feelings. Drawing connections that don't really exist. Etta always knew everything about everything, and I had a sense you were probably as tuned into this place as anyone could be. Everyone else is consumed in their jobs, be it science or saving the world. You are taking everything else in. All the details that slip by others. And with the way you look at him, I thought maybe you would know something about his family." Diana absently brushed her fingers at a stray bit of Darcy's hair.

Darcy smiled at Diana's thoughts. "I suppose I may have listened in, and dug around a little, out of curiosity after I first met him. But I'm still not sure that I know enough to really tell you. I think his father died in the war, Joseph, I believe was his name. His mother, I think her name was Sarah. She was a nurse, from what I hear, who got ill and died when he was a teenager."

"Sarah? I wonder. Etta didn't speak much of her family, said she wasn't close with them. But she once or twice mentioned a little sister in America, Sarah. I remember once, before we set off for the battle, Etta having a glass of whiskey by the fire, she'd gotten a letter from her sister. The sister had just learned her husband died in the war, and had lost the baby she'd been carrying. It sounded like her sister may have lost a few babies before. Etta said she wished she could do something to help, but didn't know what. I never thought about it again. Steve and I went out to the front lines after that, and it was such a blur from there. And then the war was over, and I had a baby." There was a hope brimming in Diana's eyes.

"I think his parents were Irish. Was Etta Irish?" Darcy needed answers, if it was somehow true, it was one incredible story.

"Etta said her family was mostly in Ireland, but she hadn't seen them in years, since they disowned Sarah. They had never been happy that Etta chose to stay in England with a great aunt when the family moved back to Ireland. She was a teenager, she had friends and a life in England. and didn't want to leave. So Etta had no problem disowning them after that. Only keeping in touch with her sister, who eloped and ran off to America." Diana had taken hold of one of Darcy's hands, holding it snug in hers, squeezing gently as she spoke.

"Now that sounds like some kind of dramatic romance novel if I ever heard one." Darcy couldn't help laughing just a bit, and Diana laughed with her.

"It does sound a bit like one of those torrid, love stories. I still want to be sure, really sure, before I say anything to Steve. I'm not sure how we can find out if it could be, or if it's something he was even remotely aware of." Darcy could see how much Diana wanted that connection, to a family she thought she had lost. But also how much she didn't want that to do anything to hurt Steve in the process.

"I'm not sure how, yet. But maybe I can talk to him." She'd never managed to get her words together around him before, but now Darcy had a purpose beyond herself. Maybe she could make it happen. Ask a few questions about him. If he was as interested in her as she was him, as Diana seemed to indicate, then maybe there was a chance she could learn something that could help Diana know if Steve was her child, and if he was, if it was something she should reveal to him.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve had gone home from the party and spent the night pondering some of the things Diana had said, and the way he felt whenever he looked at Darcy. There was also that strange sensation of familiarity or kinship he kept feeling when he was around Diana. He had tried searching for information on her, but it was thin to say the least. When he woke in the morning, the same thoughts. His whole morning run was spent trying to figure out how to talk to Darcy.

Breakfast with Sam and Bucky was littered with 'just go talk to the lady' comments, which were fairly standard the day after Steve had a run in with Darcy. He always pushed it aside, telling them, and himself, that Avenging was too demanding to balance any kind of personal life. Sam was a fan of pointing out that it was important to try to live, not simply make the motions. Maybe Steve hadn't taken the words as seriously from Sam, even though he should have. But hearing it from Diana, it somehow hit harder. And he kept finding himself caught in Darcy's eyes, and in her smile, and he felt like he wanted something again.

When Steve spotted Darcy getting on an elevator, he didn't think, he just went, dashing in, before the doors closed, smiling at her. "Hi."

Darcy seemed to smile as soon as she looked up and saw him. "Hi."

There was a minute of staring, while the elevator moved. When the doors opened to the lobby, Steve glanced out, then back at her. "Where are you headed?"

"Uh, I was just going to get out and get some air. Walk around a while, see what's happening out, beyond the Tower, today." Darcy shrugged, making no move to exit the elevator, that smile still spread over every inch of her face, it was beautiful.

"Oh, um," Steve didn't want to interrupt or bother her. Though she was still standing there. "If you were trying to get some time alone..."

"No. Not really, just some air and sunshine." Darcy paused for just a moment, after initially responding quickly, watching him. "If you want to come with me, that would be nice. That is if you want, and aren't busy."

Somehow Steve felt like his smile got bigger. He was dressed for the day, wallet and phone in his pockets, there was no reason he couldn't leave with her. "Sure!" He may have fretted himself over how overenthusiastic his response was, if it weren't for the way she beamed at him as soon as he did.

"Great!" Only then did she shift to move, and he moved with her.

They were quiet as they moved through the lobby and out to the street, where they started heading west, away from the building. Generally if Steve was in the immediate vicinity of the Tower, he ran a high risk of being recognized as Captain America. But it seemed as soon as he got a block or so away, it was rare for anyone to bother him. He didn't know if she knew that or not, but she kept pace with him without question. When they turned the corner to head north on 5th Avenue, they looked at each other again.

"Did you have fun at the party?" Darcy got some words out before he could find some of his own, and it made one corner of his mouth pull a little deeper.

"I suppose, as much fun as I usually have at those things. It wouldn't be my choice for a good time, but it's not bad." Shrugging a bit as their walk took on a more leisurely pace.

She giggled a bit. "I generally feel the same way. Sometimes Tony's parties just end up more work, keeping Jane from going crazy."

"I would say it's nice to get a chance to talk to people I don't always get to see. Even for just a moment." Stepping close to her and leaning in a little, Steve's voice was only loud enough to reach her ears on the busy street.

When he moved to give her a little space back, she closed the space immediately. His pulse jumped, and he knew he had to be grinning like a dork, but he also didn't care if he was. Her arm brushed against his, and with them both wearing short sleeves, it gave him skin contact. She took a deep breath before speaking. "That moment at the bar was one of the nicest moments of the night for me."

The back of his hand found hers, and they clung like magnets, fingers toying with each other. They both kept glancing around just enough to navigate the city street, before their gazes lingered again on one another. When they paused at the corner to cross a street, Steve tried to collect in his mind, how to say what he thought he should say, what he needed to make clearer to her. When they got across the crosswalk, he took a deep breath and tried some words. "I had an interesting conversation with Diana, that made me think a little more about not just that moment at the bar, but every time I seem to see you."

Darcy chuckled at that. "I had an interesting conversation with her this morning."

Steve had a real laugh for a moment, wondering if that had been intentional on Diana's part, or simply a lucky accident. Either way, it seemed she perhaps helped him more than she knew. "I suppose observing humanity for that long lends a kind of wisdom about the human condition."

"I should hope so." This time, their laughs mingled, and Steve wanted to drown himself in the feeling.

"I have probably been cutting myself off from certain things in life, because of the things I've experienced. I can't guarantee I'll be good at this, at opening up, at letting someone in. But I can try." His index finger was toying with hers while he spoke, hooking lightly when he finished.

Darcy's finger curled at his, their stroll becoming more of a meandering. "You seem like someone who manages to make it work, whatever it is, if you're putting in effort. And you also seem like someone who doesn't know how not to put in effort."

Steve's hand shifted to grasp her hand properly, and the feeling of comfort that washed over him when her fingers slid between his was like no other he'd felt. He inhaled deep, and exhaled long. "I will make an effort. Because this feels too good to let slip by. I just hope I can be good for you, because I can already feel you're good for me."

"I know dating superheroes has its challenges, but I think I'm ready for it. I think you're doing good for me already too." The bounce that hit her step made him grin. The notion that perhaps he was the cause of that made him bounce a little too, at least on the inside.

"How did you end up working for Jane, anyway? I heard you were a political science major. What got you working with an astrophysicist." He figured at some point Darcy became friends with Jane, but he didn't know if she started working for her because of that, or if it was a byproduct of working together.

"Did you ask around about me?" Darcy raised an eyebrow and grinned at him.

"Maybe just a little." It might have been more than a little, and he knew he was blushing. Natasha had been present the first time Steve met Darcy, which pretty much meant any hope of keeping his crush under wraps was hopeless. But, it had meant that without even asking, Natasha and Clint, and Sam kept dropping little bits of information about Darcy in his lap, probably in the hopes of getting him to make a move.

She seemed to flush too. "I might have been keeping my ear to the ground for any tidbits of information about you too. As for how I started with Jane, I desperately needed internship credits for college, it didn't even matter if it was related to my major at that point, and I was apparently the only one who answered the application call for interning with Jane. We became friends and I stayed. After the whole New Mexico thing, I couldn't abandon her, and it was interesting."

"I heard you're from California." Steve was finding the feeling of walking around holding someone's hand to be very nice indeed. He recalled wondering what that was like when he was young. Bucky had always tried to include him, though no girl then wanted much to do with him. Steve had spent much of that time wondering what holding a girl's hand felt like, and what it was to have her look up with fondness. He'd learned about how nice a fond look could feel with Peggy, but there hadn't been much time for wandering hand in hand during the war.

"Yeah. Average suburban kid, not a lot to tell. Parents divorced, and went trying to sort out their own lives after. So, when I got the chance to go someplace new, and try to sort out my own life, I suppose I took it." Darcy shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal, but Steve felt like there were deeper stories there. He didn't press it now, he figured they had plenty of time for that. "What about you? I know you're from Brooklyn, but what else? What was your mom like?"

"My mom was great, kind and loving, but tough and determined. She was a nurse, worked harder than hard to keep food on the table. My parents immigrated from Ireland. My mom didn't talk much about the family back in Ireland, but it sounds like one, or both, of their families didn't really approve of them being together, so they left. I was scrawny and sick a lot growing up. Most girls barely even looked once at me. But I always had Bucky in my corner." He spoke softly, and the way she watched him and squeezed his hand in moments, listening so intently to his story, it made him want to thank her. Even if he didn't look like that scrawny kid, he still felt a bit like that, especially when opening himself up in the presence of a beautiful woman like Darcy.

"Families can be weird, and tough. Sounds like your parents had a kind of wild romance if they ran off to another country together." There seemed to be a little more smile on one of her cheeks when he'd spoken. Steve figured it to be general excitement, because he felt the electricity spreading through his body.

"I wish I could have known him, I only heard the stories my mother told, and there were times she didn't have the strength to tell them. They really did love each other. I suppose family can be kind of complicated. I can't imagine disowning my own child simply because they loved someone I didn't like. Especially when it didn't sound as though my father was a bad person. I really only had my mom and Bucky growing up, and I sometimes think now how few people she had. Besides a couple of neighbors and coworkers, and me, my mom only ever kept in touch with one sister, who was I guess a little removed from the family herself. She lived in England though, so I only saw her twice in my life." Steve gave a squeeze to Darcy's hand, and received a squeeze back in reply.

"Do you remember your aunt at all?" Her smile was soft and warm, it made him feel safe.

"A bit, her name was Etta. The first time I met her, I was six. She visited for a week, told me a lot of stories about the war, and her friends who fought in it. The second time was when my mother was ill, she came to see her before she died. She said if ever needed anything to write or call, and I was welcome to come stay with her. But the idea of leaving home at that point just seemed crazy. She sent letters from time to time, but I never saw her again. The last letter I got from her, during the war, she said I should come visit her when the war was over. Of course, I never made it." They kept strolling past streets, far more involved in watching each other than anything else. Steve felt a fresh charge go through him each time Darcy squeezed or stroked his hand, and he only pulled enough focus away to make sure they were safe walking the street. "I don't know what happened to her either. When I woke up, I got files on all the Howling Commandos, and Peggy, and Howard."

"I bet we could find out somehow, if you want. Maybe you prefer to leave the past alone." He liked that she nudged, but didn't push, and that smile she kept holding him with had him wanting to wrap her up and hold on tight.

As Central Park came into view, they wandered toward it without saying anything.

"I love all the parks this city has." She was looking up into the trees as the green took over from the concrete. Sure, if you looked, up and out, the buildings were still there, but it still felt like another place walking around there.

"Having grown up a city boy, I like the city, but I also like the little escapes the parks, especially the big ones, provide." Steve liked the way she held his hand, and curled the other around his arm. He wanted to pull her in, but figured that too was something they had time for. He did pull her toward an empty bench overlooking the pond. Once they sat, and she leaned her whole side into him, Steve pulled his hand from her so he could curl it around her.

"Fresh air, sunshine, and nice company. This is definitely what I needed." She had started off looking out at the water, but ended looking right in his eyes.

"Can I tell you something?" While his voice got slightly soft and serious, Steve was still smiling soft at her.

"Sure." Darcy reached her hand out for his other hand, and he grabbed hold.

Steve leaned in a little bit closer and spoke softly. "Only a few people at the Tower know this, I think. But my mother, didn't give birth to me. I was adopted, and since last night, I'm wondering a little bit, if Diana might be my mother." 

Darcy appeared reasonably surprised, but the warmth only seemed to grow in her eyes. "What makes you think that?"

"I just got this feeling when I was talking to her, and looking in her eyes. And her name is Diana. My Aunt Etta, wrote me a letter, giving me the names of my parents. It was only a first name, but I don't know. Maybe it's crazy, but I just got a feeling, like I knew her somehow."

There was a strange smile over Darcy's face that Steve couldn't quite figure it's meaning. "That's an amazing story. And maybe it isn't so crazy. I told you I talked to Diana this morning, she came inquiring about you."

"Oh? Does she-?" Steve wasn't quite sure how to even finish that question. He wondered now what exactly Darcy and Diana had talked about, and what Darcy knew.

"She said she felt like she knew you somehow too. You maybe should go talk to her." Darcy squeezed his hand and smiled at him in a way that seemed to wash away the nerves that had started crawling up his spine.

"I know we just got here, but do you mind if we walk back now?" Steve did want to sit and enjoy the park and just soak in the feeling of being with Darcy finally, but he also really wanted to find out if Diana really could be his mother. It felt as if the number of people in his world was growing at every moment today.

"I don't mind at all. We can come back here anytime." Darcy moved with him every step. They walked back a bit brisker than they'd gone, but Steve tried not to go too fast. He was also trying to sort out what to say, what to ask, and what it might mean to have another piece of family in his life.


	6. Chapter 6

Diana was in the lab, double checking her assessment of the old book, and seeing if there was a means to destroy the thing, and what kind of protections it might have against it being destroyed. She looked up when the door opened to see Darcy and Steve enter, and smiled upon noticing they were holding hands.

"You two finally talked then?" It made her heart jump a bit to see them together, and they looked happy.

"We did. I guess we both just needed the right nudge. Thank you. But that's not the main reason we stopped in." Steve was wearing a smile that could not be tamed.

"Oh? No?" Diana spoke slowly, and with an even tone, though one corner of her mouth played with a smile, as she glanced at Darcy, who smiled bright at her.

"While we were talking, Darcy mentioned you were asking about me. Said you thought I seemed familiar. Well, I felt the same way. My mom, Sarah, before she died, she told me that she hadn't given birth to me. She raised me, but she hadn't been able to give birth to a child. My Aunt Etta later gave me the names of my birth parents. She only had a first name for my mother, Diana. And she said my father's name was Steve Trevor, and that was why I was named Steve." Steve was speaking slowly and deliberately, his gaze locked right into hers the whole time.

Diana stood up from where she'd sat, inching closer with each step toward where Steve stood, the smile growing broader across her face as did the one across his. She noticed Darcy let go of Steve's hand as she got closer. Hugging Steve felt like slow motion. He had been five pounds of scraggly flesh the last time she'd held him. She had whispered to him, 'be strong, live well, do good' before she'd kissed his forehead and handed him to Etta. Now he was here, having lived perhaps a stranger life than she'd even had. "I always wondered where my child had wound up. I'm sorry I was too much of a mess to ever help you. I'm glad you found a good home. And even happier to have the chance to know you."

He hadn't let go, and neither did she. Their hands rubbed each other's backs, while their chins rested on the other's shoulder. Diana could see Darcy standing just to one side, smiling and watching them with her hands over her heart. Finally, Steve pulled back enough to look at Diana. "I did have a home that loved me. I'm guessing that the stories Aunt Etta told me about her friends in World War One were about you?"

"Probably, yes. Me, and your father. Etta worked for Steve, and she was a great friend to me. She only mentioned her sister a few times, so I would love to hear about your mother, and what she was like. I had figured after all these years, I'd never meet my son. That he was lost to time." Diana was a little teary eyed as she ran her hands down Steve's cheeks and held his face. The way he was smiling without hesitation or reservation let her breath easier. She had always feared if she searched for her son, that he would hate her, or that her appearance in his life might destroy his world, and after the things she experienced, she never wanted to be the cause of that in someone's life.

"And I would be happy to tell you about my mom, if you'll tell me more about you, and Steve Trevor, and my Aunt Etta." Steve chuckled softly, his hands still rubbing Diana's back.

"Of course." It was then they both seemed to remember they weren't alone. Looking over at Darcy, they opened their arms, and with only a moment of pause, she joined their hug. Diana didn't know if this reunion would have really happened if she hadn't gone and talked to Darcy, which she'd done because of the way Darcy and Steve looked at one another. To her mind, Darcy was an important part of this reunion. A reunion that had taken nearly a hundred years to come to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed the story! And special thanks to a few people who listened to me fret over getting this story right, @blackirisposts , @pegasusdragontiger , & @melifair . Thank you guys!


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